Therefore shake off your great sadness: Here Ezra concludes by telling the woman to stop being sad. This clause may be rendered “So put aside your sadness, great as it is” or even “So stop being so sad.”

And lay aside your many sorrows means the same thing as the previous clause. A possible model for both clauses is “So stop being so sad and sorrowful.”

So that the Mighty One may be merciful to you again, and the Most High may give you rest, a relief from your troubles: The conjunction so that introduces these clauses as the grounds for Ezra’s admonition to the woman. He uses the word again since God showed the woman mercy earlier by giving here a son (see 2 Esd 9.45). The Mighty One may be translated “God Almighty” or “God who is All-Powerful.” The Most High is similar to the Mighty One. A possible model for this last half of the verse is “Then God, who is All-powerful and above all other gods, may show you mercy once again by giving you peace and relief from your troubles.”

This is the end of Ezra’s speaking. Here is an alternative model for this verse:

• So put aside your sadness, great as it is, and forget all your many sorrows. Then God Almighty, the Most High, may show you mercy once again, and you will find peace, and relief from your troubles.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Esdras. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.